So Wednesday night we hurriedly packed our stuff in the rain, it took around three and a half hours of driving through heavy rain to reach our destination, the take out for the Afon Mellte, which I was reliably informed was one of the finest whitewater runs in all of the UK. When we awoke the following morning it was only spitting so after checking the levels of another river (The Tawe) which was too low we headed to the Mellte Put on.
The run starts with a sweet drop (pictured above) and the runs on into another bigger drop which we sessioned for a while. It also featured a highlight of the day when Stu Morris (An extremely experienced kayaker) took his first swim for 18 years. After that the run is a series of fantastic S bends, bouncy wave trains and fun slides.
I can safely say the Mellte lived up to expectations, now it was on to the beach, specifically St. Justinians, Home of the Bitches. When we got to the beach we were greeted with about three inch waves, great. Off we popped to another beach, with equally poor waves, so we decided to take a stroll on the beach for the evening and hope the surf was better in the morning. After spending an evening formulating a plan for the next day we decided that getting up at 3AM for the Bitches wasn't really an option, so If the surf was rubbish again we would take our creek boats and go for some coastal exploring.
Typically the morning brought no surf and so we mounted up and went for a lovely bit of Sea exploring in the sunshine. After all that the long trip home got me back in time for the weekend, sweet.
So remember, make time for those last minute trips. They are so worth it.
See you on the river. Peace.
